HELPER OF THE MONTH

February 5, 2021

She saw a cry for help and saved his days from further abuse.

Americans Helping Americans is honored to award the first Helper of the Month Award of 2021, with a $500 grant to waitress, Flavaine Carvalho,  for her quick thinking and courageous actions in spotting a victim of child abuse while working at a Orlando Restaurant and stepping in to save a child, and likely his sister, from days filled with abuse and neglect.

You can read more of her story here  https://miami.cbslocal.com/2021/01/15/orlando-waitress-flavaine-carvalho-hailed-as-hero-for-helping-abused-boy/

Children are too often the most innocent victims of the vicious cycle of poverty that AHA has worked for decades to help overcome.

  • Whether suffering from hunger, because their out-of-work parents can’t provide food or these days, school is not in session and the lunches and breakfasts served to many are no longer available.
  • Whether suffering from cold, because they simply don’t have warm coats and boots to wear.
  • Whether suffering from the digital divide, unable to complete lessons during these days of virtual learning during the COVID pandemic.
  • Whether suffering from neglect and abuse, because their family can’t, or won’t, care for their health and welfare.

In recent days, there have been too many stories about the neglect felt by innocent children.  We hear them from our partners on a regular basis.  We know that, quite simply, poverty is a culprit behind child abuse.

Flavaine represents the best of Americans Helping Americans and has touched a nation with her story of not turning her back to vulnerable child who has obvious signs of abuse.  AHA’s hope in spotlighting everyday Hero’s will remind others in this great nation to step up, with courage, take action… and be somebody’s HERO!  That is what AMERICANS HELPING AMERICANS is all about. Knowing how pervasive the issue of child abuse and poverty is, AHA is also pleased to also contribute $500 to the child’s trusted on-line account with the local police department and in both the boy and Flavaines honor, AHA is making a grant of $500 to  Harbor House of Central Florida, to support their efforts to combat child neglect in the region.   Harbor house

Indeed, Americans Help Americans, one person, one community, one at a time.

Related Blogs

Operation Warmth: Keeping Appalachia Warm This Winter

Operation Warmth: Keeping Appalachia Warm This Winter

Winter is here in the hills and hollers of Appalachia, where in West Virginia, winter lows are often below freezing and sometimes drop below 10 degrees, according to West Virginia University. And this year, the Old Farmer’s Almanac released its 2025/2026 winter…

Volunteer group standing in front of a newly built wheelchair-accessible ramp outside a rural West Virginia home.

Poverty in West Virginia: Causes, Impact, and Solutions

Life in rural West Virginia is defined by close-knit communities, rugged mountains, and deep cultural traditions. Yet behind the beauty and resilience of the state lies a difficult truth: poverty in West Virginia remains one of the most persistent challenges in the…

McDowell County families sharing a holiday meal hosted by Big Creek People in Action and Americans Helping Americans

A Season of Sharing in McDowell County

Last year, Big Creek People in Action (BCPIA), with the generous support of Americans Helping Americans®, helped ensure that the spirit of togetherness filled McDowell County from Thanksgiving through Christmas. Across several weeks, families gathered for community…

Smiling child in a red hoodie holding a donated holiday ham for a Christmas meal.

Bringing the Warmth of the Holidays to Appalachian Families

This coming holiday season, Americans Helping Americans® is providing grant funding to our Appalachian partners to enable the less fortunate in their distressed communities to enjoy festive Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners. In Georgia, our partner in Gainesville,…